Hello all!

As some of you know I have a 4 month old lab bitch. She is fantastic and generally very well behaved in the house. However, outside is a different matter!!!It's not that she thinks she's boss or that she's badly behaved (i.e. she very rarely tries to bite the lead or anything). The problem is excitement she is soooo excited about anything and everything, she wants to get to every person and dog out there. I've taken her to busy places in the hope of it camling her down a bit but she is constantly straining (when there arn't distractions she walks almost perfectly on my left heel with only minor corrections).
I have a rope lead for her and a normal lead which attaches to her collar. The problem is she makes awful gasping noises so I know it's not good for her. I try "leave" and "no" but like I said it all goes out the window when we are out!:rolleyes:

I know halti leads are supposed to help wth pulling so I was just wondering if this may be an option and what people's oppionions are?

I have also considerd a harness but I think this will only give her more strength to pull as she can use all her chest. Any advice much appreciated!

Lotti has a pet shop, and can probably tell you the proper name for the halter similar to the halti, which I have heard is a bit "kinder". (not that the Halti is "unkind", apparently, it just doesn't jerk the dog's head as much as a Halti)

A few people have used it on here and it's apparently had a very positive response.

Molly didn't get on with the Halti at all, and although she really dislikes the Dogmatics headcollar that we got for her, she walks much better on it. She's now to the point that if she's misbehaving all we have to do is fetch it out of the bag and she starts being good as gold so that she doesn't have to have it on!

A head collar definitely makes it easier to get control back when they're all excited and busy trying to look at everything around them rather than you. Personally I'd go with the Dogmatics collar, but I'm sure that there are other designs and makes that work better for some people and some dogs.

I think that what PT's referring to is called a Canny Collar, but I haven't tried that one with Molly.

I have a Lab who fits the description you give yours!

I tried everything to prevent him pulling, including a halti. The best thing I have found and stuck with is a walkezee harness, I don't know how it works, but it does, it's like a miracle and makes a massive difference for us.

Here's the link for it. I believe you can only buy it online.
http://www.dogtrainingharnesses.co.uk/

wow there are so many! Obvoisly I don't want anything that will /upset her so I'm happy to keep trying til I find one that works for us. Ahh you have to love em lol!
I just looked at the Canny Collar and that may really be worth a try-I like how you still control from the back rather than the side as with a Halti I can imagine that thier head is always twised.

wow there are so many! Obvoisly I don't want anything that will /upset her so I'm happy to keep trying til I find one that works for us. Ahh you have to love em lol!

Honestly, get the walkezee. You wont regret it. My mother in law has one for her mad springer too!

Honestly, get the walkezee. You wont regret it. My mother in law has one for her mad springer too!

Only worry with that is it looks like it connects further down the back and I want her to walk at the side not in front which she would be slightly with this. I'll caertianly look into it though thanks for everybody's help!:D

wow there are so many! Obvoisly I don't want anything that will /upset her so I'm happy to keep trying til I find one that works for us. Ahh you have to love em lol!
I just looked at the Canny Collar and that may really be worth a try-I like how you still control from the back rather than the side as with a Halti I can imagine that thier head is always twised.

I've recently started using a Canny Collar with my over-excited, I've got to sniff everything and go up to everybody dog.

He hates it - acts like a bucking bronco when I first put it on and is generally a complete pain. BUT when I've got him as far as the pavement and he's settled a bit, boy does it work! We had a couple of days of snivelling and crying - he sounded so upset, that I had to keep stopping to see if I'd got it twisted and was hurting him somehow. He was, however, just playing for sympathy.

It's such a simple system - if he pulls, his snout is pulled down towards his chest, when he stops pulling, he's comfy again. Pity he's so stupid he manages to forget this every time we go out. I intend to persevere, as he does slowly seem to be getting the message, and takes slightly less time to remember every walk.

I'd tried him on a half choke before - with no luck at all, and I had permanent muscle ache from him diving off in every direction, without warning.

It was Rainrescue who recommended and got me the collar - for which I'm extremely grateful.

I recommend Gentle Leaders which are similar to halti's but they dont ride up into the eyes which halti's tend to do. I sell Gentle Leaders in my shop for £9.99 if you want further info Pm me. I have had huge successes with snugglepets harnesses too. The problem with allowing a puller to wear a collar and lead or a rope lead can lead to collapsed trachea.

Gentle Leaders work on the back of the head and are probably the most humane ones you can purchase.

Only worry with that is it looks like it connects further down the back and I want her to walk at the side not in front which she would be slightly with this. I'll caertianly look into it though thanks for everybody's help!:D

I don't use the connections, just clip his lead directly to the harness at the side (sort of next to the shoulder). He walks by my side and it works like a dream.

Hi, with the dog walking business our customers use a variety of different leads. The canny is used on a wei/doberman x that is like a bucking bronco and it hasn't made a bit of difference, we switched her to a halti and she was like a pussycat. We also use a halti on an 8mth old lab that chewed through his canny and his gentle leader and hated an ordinary collar and lead. There is also a K9 collar which works well but takes some getting used to. Over them all, we've always got better results with the halti than others.

I walk different dogs with haltis , canny collars and gentle leaders but my preference for my own dogs is the dogmatic as it doesn't ride up into their eyes and make them sore.Without them I couldn't walk my three dogs together as the spaniels really pull. With the dogmatics I can walk both spaniels and the dogue de bordeaux all together.they all walk beatifully to heel. Well worth the money.

I walk different dogs with haltis , canny collars and gentle leaders but my preference for my own dogs is the dogmatic as it doesn't ride up into their eyes and make them sore.Without them I couldn't walk my three dogs together as the spaniels really pull. With the dogmatics I can walk both spaniels and the dogue de bordeaux all together.they all walk beatifully to heel. Well worth the money.


Like helen we walk many dogs with either Halties , canny collars or gentle leaders but my own dog Badger came on a harness from the breeder and walks well with it on , i have never had a sheltie on a harness before but as he is so happy walking on it , i am happy to leave him that way

I walk different dogs with haltis , canny collars and gentle leaders but my preference for my own dogs is the dogmatic as it doesn't ride up into their eyes and make them sore.Without them I couldn't walk my three dogs together as the spaniels really pull. With the dogmatics I can walk both spaniels and the dogue de bordeaux all together.they all walk beatifully to heel. Well worth the money.

Another vote for dogmatics here - I use them on my own dogs, one of which is 45kg and will continue growing for a while yet :hihi:. You wouldn't know you had a dog on a lead with these and they are shaped brilliantly to avoid the dogs eyes. I have used all sorts of harnesses, haltis and gentle leaders on mine before, none of these had such a dramatic effect as the dogmatics. My boys didn't even try and get them off the first time they had them on as they seem really comfy for them, as apposed to the haltis and gentle leader where they were constantly trying to rub them off. One of my dogs occassionally has problems with his eyes and needs cream in them - I haven't gone through half as many tubes since switching to the dogmatics - I can only presume that the other head collars irratated and rubbed his eyes. You can even choose the material, colour and there is a sizing guide on the site which tells you how to measure your dog to be certain that you get the correct size.
Good luck - you'll have to let us all know what you go for and how you get on with the product :thumbsup:

As already said, dogmatics are great but if you're wanting a harness I can't recommend the Walkezee enough.

I used to use it for one of my own dogs (who now walks much nicer on her lead!) but in strange, busy places when I think she may be more inclined to pull she wears her Walkezee again and it works as well today as the day I bought it.

It's kind and effective and whilst it looks like they'd be walking in front, she walks by my side with it - it depends how you attach and use it. If I want her in front, I attach a double ended lead to both sides of the harness and walk her in front, other times she has it clipped to only one side whilst one of my training clients has a coupler for hers so that it attaches right over the back.

So three different ways of doing it!

I personally wouldn't recommend the Canny Collar anymore (it seemed to work but actually has a clip under the chin that is right in the middle of the airway) and I've found that haltis ride up whilst the dogmatics don't. Can't say I've ever used a Gentle Leader though.

I use both the dogmatic and a halti for my dogs, both work very well, but I would go for the dogmatic in preference as it has a buckle fastening and the dogs have never managed to get it off whilst walking...unfortunately I cannot say the same for the halti, as soon as finaces allow I will be buying another dogmatic (they also wash well in the washing machine) .

Hi

tried a halti on my bull terrier/colly cross and he just destroyed it before I could get it on, however my friends have used them when training to good effect.

I eventually used a funny little harness, cant remember the name but I got it online. It was made of cord, not flat webbing, and although it took a bit of getting used to when putting on, once I got the hang of it it was GREAT.

it went under his front legs in two loops, which just tightened as he pulled (it didnt go round the neck so was not a collar) and fixed to your leash just behind the shoulders on his back. It couldnt damage his neck or chest, but we didnt use it for long at a time to avoid making sore patches. In fact after about three tries he just stopped pulling. The trick is not to pull yourself, you have to keep still and calm. The dog can then work out he/she has sole control of the situation and then decide to stop pulling for him/herself. After that they will generally just not do it. All you have to do is give them time to work it out and make that decision themselves. I would suggest working in short bursts though, so they dont get bad associations from the device making a sore spot. Maybe 10 minutes or so is enough. It couldnt actually cut into them as the cord was too thick, but the round shape of it made it very uncomfortable under the legs.

best of luck - and avoid fixed harnesses, you can pick them up with those but they make the whole thing worse. I just use a chain now, and its rarely tight at all.

UPDATE-

Thanks for eveybody's help I didn't realise there were so manyout there! I decided to try a Canny Collar which was recommended on here and by a friend who has a lab. It took me a good 20 mins to figure out how to put it on and when she tried it she absolutley hated it! Was like a bucking bronco my o/h took her out and was back in 5 mins saying he coudln't cope she was rolling and he thought she may hurt herself!

I took her out and let it loose so she could fight it for a bit...eventually she settled down and after 2 or 3 walkes was perfect. She does still try to wipe on nose on grass verges occasionally to get it off but is usually pretty happy as when she see's it she knows it's "walkies!".
I'm really glad I asked otherwise I prob would have got a halit and one of my friend said how she tried on her Snauzer and he kept spinning round on it which could not have been great for his poor neck!!!

UPDATE-

Thanks for eveybody's help I didn't realise there were so manyout there! I decided to try a Canny Collar which was recommended on here and by a friend who has a lab. It took me a good 20 mins to figure out how to put it on and when she tried it she absolutley hated it! Was like a bucking bronco my o/h took her out and was back in 5 mins saying he coudln't cope she was rolling and he thought she may hurt herself!

I took her out and let it loose so she could fight it for a bit...eventually she settled down and after 2 or 3 walkes was perfect. She does still try to wipe on nose on grass verges occasionally to get it off but is usually pretty happy as when she see's it she knows it's "walkies!".
I'm really glad I asked otherwise I prob would have got a halit and one of my friend said how she tried on her Snauzer and he kept spinning round on it which could not have been great for his poor neck!!!

So glad you found the right solution. Darling Zeb still does his bucking bronco act when I first put on the Canny Collar, but his walking to heel is definitely improving.

I think different types of collar/harness suit different dogs - they are all individuals, after all, so you need to find the right one for your own particular little cherub.

Hi

tried a halti on my bull terrier/colly cross and he just destroyed it before I could get it on, however my friends have used them when training to good effect.

I eventually used a funny little harness, cant remember the name but I got it online. It was made of cord, not flat webbing, and although it took a bit of getting used to when putting on, once I got the hang of it it was GREAT.

it went under his front legs in two loops, which just tightened as he pulled (it didnt go round the neck so was not a collar) and fixed to your leash just behind the shoulders on his back. It couldnt damage his neck or chest, but we didnt use it for long at a time to avoid making sore patches. In fact after about three tries he just stopped pulling. The trick is not to pull yourself, you have to keep still and calm. The dog can then work out he/she has sole control of the situation and then decide to stop pulling for him/herself. After that they will generally just not do it. All you have to do is give them time to work it out and make that decision themselves. I would suggest working in short bursts though, so they dont get bad associations from the device making a sore spot. Maybe 10 minutes or so is enough. It couldnt actually cut into them as the cord was too thick, but the round shape of it made it very uncomfortable under the legs.

best of luck - and avoid fixed harnesses, you can pick them up with those but they make the whole thing worse. I just use a chain now, and its rarely tight at all.

That would be a Lupi harness. A couple of the dogs I used to walk used Lupis and were really good on them, but the third just wouldn't take to them and caused himself skin damage under his arms with the cords.

I tried one with Molly very briefly (I borrowed one to try it out) and it was declared a disaster because I have a GSD who is so bendy and determined that she can fit through a cat flap so I couldn't keep her in it!

I'm sure that for dogs that take to them they're great (along with many of the other designs of head collar and harness) but it wasn't good for Molly. She happily stays in her Snugglepets and Ezydog harnesses though.